Phew, its all over for another year

The last few weeks have been the programming equivalent of an over-generous Christmas Day meal with X Factor, Celebrity, Strictly piled high on the plate - and phew, at last its over.
For broadcasters desperately seeking ratings - 12.2 million for the final of Strictly - these huge numbers are a blessing.
But it's not good news for anyone seeking variety in the schedules. Entertainment is what people want in these difficult times, and the more the merrier. Where will that leave factual programming in 2009? Working hard to be different I think.

The BBC3 puzzle.

Would BBC3 stand up to the sort of public impact test that was applied so rigorously to the BBC's local video plans? I only ask because the BBC Trust is set to review the channel as part of its thinking about younger viewers and it seems to me there's a case for asking - if its doing a good job for younger viewers - whether that has an adverse impact on those commercial channels targetting younger viewers.
It's odd, isn't it, that Channel 4's projected future shortfall in funds is not seen in the context of competition from well-funded BBC digital channels like BBC3? Admittedly BBC4's lower audiences are less commercially significant, but nonetheless it's in the same sphere of influence as More4.
Sadly, as Ofcom and the Trust are two separate entities, the chances at thin for a linking a solution for Channel 4's funding shortfall with a re-balancing of the BBC's digital channel spending.